Hey Green Bay Packers, you just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do next?
How about reach a 71 percent bigger audience every time you post an update to Facebook? Both the Packers and their Super Bowl opponent Pittsburgh Steelers saw huge growth as their team marched through the NFL playoffs to the Super Bowl.
The Packers saw an increase of 465,441 Facebook likes from Dec. 30, 2010, to Feb. 14, 2011. That’s a 71 percent increase, the largest of any NFL team in the same span. The Steelers grew by 503,208 likes, an increase of 38 percent from the 1.3 million fans they had on Dec. 30.
Here’s a sortable chart showing how many likes each NFL team had on Dec. 30, 2010, how many they have today (Feb. 14, 2011), as well as the growth in that span. Notice the Packers jumped from No. 8 to No. 6 on the list. The Steelers remained at No. 2, but they did close the gap on the Dallas Cowboys.
| Team | Fans 12/30/10 | Fans 2/14/11 | Growth % | Growth # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 1,892,022 | 2,280,348 | 0.21 | 388,326 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,332,025 | 1,835,233 | 0.38 | 503,208 |
| New England Patriots | 1,289,388 | 1,647,365 | 0.28 | 357,977 |
| Chicago Bears | 1,033,937 | 1,306,786 | 0.26 | 272,849 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1,050,683 | 1,186,417 | 0.13 | 135,734 |
| Green Bay Packers | 659,354 | 1,124,795 | 0.71 | 465,441 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 724,735 | 925,957 | 0.28 | 201,222 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 708,625 | 822,140 | 0.16 | 113,515 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 501,945 | 734,264 | 0.46 | 232,319 |
| New York Giants | 513,267 | 670,615 | 0.31 | 157,348 |
| Oakland Raiders | 474,193 | 633,061 | 0.34 | 158,868 |
| San Diego Chargers | 538,394 | 631,633 | 0.17 | 93,239 |
| Miami Dolphins | 471,936 | 564,614 | 0.20 | 92,678 |
| Washington Redskins | 457,380 | 513,326 | 0.12 | 55,946 |
| Denver Broncos | 410,943 | 505,626 | 0.23 | 94,683 |
| New York Jets | 341,524 | 500,841 | 0.47 | 159,317 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 384,801 | 487,955 | 0.27 | 103,154 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 306,353 | 424,782 | 0.39 | 118,429 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 311,169 | 403,279 | 0.30 | 92,110 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 301,466 | 370,003 | 0.23 | 68,537 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 301,006 | 338,711 | 0.13 | 37,705 |
| Detroit Lions | 202,506 | 258,714 | 0.28 | 56,208 |
| Cleveland Browns | 227,335 | 244,997 | 0.08 | 17,662 |
| Houston Texans | 186,240 | 226,101 | 0.21 | 39,861 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 153,692 | 204,588 | 0.33 | 50,896 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 161,420 | 203,457 | 0.26 | 42,037 |
| Buffalo Bills | 168,160 | 197,094 | 0.17 | 28,934 |
| Tennessee Titans | 162,441 | 190,416 | 0.17 | 27,975 |
| Carolina Panthers | 122,259 | 167,773 | 0.37 | 45,514 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 130,777 | 149,508 | 0.14 | 18,731 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 117,413 | 140,844 | 0.20 | 23,431 |
| St. Louis Rams | 69,327 | 77,468 | 0.12 | 8,141 |